Mitsy's Story
by Mustard Lady
Summary: The little princess doll has been settling in nicely in her new home. But what was her life like before she came to Andy's? What kind of owner did she have? When Mitsy has a troubling day and seems frightened the same night, how can Woody and the others help her? What is causing her to feel sad and scared?
1. Mitsy's Story Chapter 1 A Cloud

**Here's my next story. Each toy has their own back story, and this is Mitsy's.**

 **Sorry that in the previous story I forgot to mention that the princess wears a yellow crown with 5 tiny plastic jewels in it. Set between Toy Story1 and Toy Story2. I don't own Toy Story.**

* * *

Andy had a dentist appointment and had just finished playing with his toys. The theme of playtime today had been a forest fire caused by Rex, a fire-breathing dragon and it was up to Woody and Buzz not only to put it out, but also to rescue Bo Peep, Wheezy, Hamm, Mitsy, Mrs. Potato Head, the 3 green aliens, and the troll doll out of the fire because they were trapped. Woody and Buzz had to enlist the help of Mr. Potato Head and Slinky to accomplish their mission. Andy had just left his room a few minutes ago.

"Ooo!" Rex shrieked. " I got to be a fierce role model this time! Do you think I'll ever get to that point, where toys will actually be afraid of me?"

"Ha, don't count on it," Potato Head said.

"Eh, you're too much of a softie." Hamm added.

"Boy, the fire part was really gripping," Buzz remarked. "Wouldn't it have been something to see, the way Andy described it?"

"Yeah," Woody agreed. "It was great."

" _I_ didn't think it was so great," Princess Mitsy said, half-sad and half-angry. Everyone stared her. She wasn't usually that negative.

"What's your problem?" Potato Head asked.

"I...I mean, why couldn't it have been a cold, dangerous snow blizzard?"

"What difference does it make?" Hamm asked.

"A blizzard wouldn't cause the same kind of damage as a fire," Mitsy explained. "If you think about it, if it had all been real instead of play, it _wouldn't_ have been fun or exciting." The toys were missing her point, and were a bit taken back. Mitsy was an optimist and hardly ever put such a damper on things.

"Eh, what are you fretting about? It was just play," Hamm said.

"Mitsy, you didn't like it?" Bo Peep asked.

"No," Mitsy said emphatically, "I _didn't."_ She shook her head adamantly.

"Well, we can't help the way Andy's imagination runs," Woody spoke up. "At least it wasn't real." He was trying to be positive.

"Yeah, no sense in spoiling it for everybody else," Slinky said.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Mitsy said. She tried to cheer up and act like everything was okay, but there was something different in her manner throughout the day. She seemed distracted in deep thought, and looked forlorn. _Something_ was eating at her.


	2. Mitsy's Story Chapter 2 Lady in Distres

That evening during dinner, the toys were playing a bunch of board games. Robot, Slinky, Rex, and Mitsy were all playing CANDYLAND. Suddenly, loud emergency vehicle sirens pierced the air and made their way two houses down. Everybody had been so engrossed in their games that they hadn't noticed the sirens approaching. "Whoa! Hey, something's going on," Buzz declared. The toys all looked up towards the window, except Mitsy. She ran off. Buzz climbed on the desk and looked out. "Hey, everyone," he called, "there's a bunch of emergency personnel down the street!"

"Really?" Rex asked anxiously, and several of the toys gathered on the desk to see.

"At least it doesn't look like there's any fire," Woody said. "What do you suppose is going on?"

"Could be anything," Hamm answered. "It could be a heart attack, break-in, assault of battery, gas leak, could be lots of things."

"Where do you learn all that kind of stuff?" Potato Head asked.

"Hey, I'm not just another pretty face. Don't you ever watch the news or read the paper? These kinds of things happen all the time."

"Look, there's Andy's mother," Wheezy pointed out.

"Probably trying to see if she can help out," Woody said.

"I hope it's nothing major," Bo Peep remarked. After the situation was taken care of, the toys resumed their playing. Some of them started putting their games away.

"Hey, where's Mitsy?" Rex asked. "It's her turn."

"Haven't seen her," Slinky said. "I'll go find her." Slinky checked under Andy's bed first, then went to get Woody and Buzz. "Uh, something's up with her," the dog stated. "I don't know what, but she's awfully upset about somethin'. I think you'd better take a look."

"Oh, okay," Woody said. "We're coming. What could be the matter?"

"Something,' Buzz answered. "She hasn't been herself today."

"She surely hasn't," Bo Peep added. "She's been really down." The three of them looked under Andy's bed while Slinky tried to join the game again. The princess was huddled up against the wall, with her clenched fists covering her face. She was whimpering.

"Now what's this all about?" Buzz asked.

"Hey," Woody said kindly, "whatever is the matter? What's wrong?" He sat down next to her.

"Oh!" Mitsy moaned. "I...I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Woody asked.

"The sirens scared me. I...I hate sirens!" She blurted. "I absolutely hate them. I can't stand them. Just hearing them frightens me!" She shivered as she raised her head up.

Woody placed his big, calm hand over her small, trembling one. "And those ones were really close too." He said.

"Yes, it can be frightening," Buzz said. "But sirens can't hurt you."

"I know," Mitsy said sadly. "It's not that. It's just...it's just that sirens mean danger, of some sort. They remind me of bad things happening." She wore a sad, faraway look.

"M mm, but sirens also mean that help is on the way. That should make them less chilling." Bo Peep chimed in.

"Yeah, but they always mean that something's wrong. Every time you hear one, no matter what the situation is, you know that something terribly wrong is going on somewhere." Mitsy said.

"That's true," Bo Peep responded.

"I...I just really don't like them!" Mitsy rested her chin on her knees, breathed deeply, and kept her eyes on the floor. "And they were so close. All of a sudden, they were...just there! You know?"

"Yeah," Buzz nodded.

"But it's okay," Woody said. "They're gone now."

"They are?" Mitsy looked up wide-eyed.

"Yes, everything's settled down now. And it wasn't a fire." Bo smiled.

"It wasn't? I'm glad to hear that! I was too scared to find out."

"Whatever it was, it's been handled," Woody said.

"Oh," Mitsy sighed heavily with relief.

"Well, it's getting late. And you have a game to finish before Andy comes back up," Buzz stated.

"Yeah, come on," Woody smiled and held her hand as she rose.

"Thanks, but I really don't feel like playing anymore games tonight," Mitsy said quietly. "I just want to be quiet."

"All right, if that's what'll make you feel better," Woody stared at his little friend.

"It will." Her knees were still shaky, but she came out to watch her friends have fun.

 **When I was little, for years, I was scared of sirens too. They made me scared because I knew it meant something was wrong. When I was little, I remember watching the show _911,_ and some of the stories frightened me. I have a vivid memory, and when I hear or see something that really gets at me, it's not just that I can't forget, I'm also afraid of dreaming about it at night. I've always been that way. **


	3. Mitsy Story Chapter 3 The Truth

Later that night, after everyone was in bed, Buzz noticed from his vantage point on the bed that Slinky was pacing back and forth in front of the door. Then he tapped Woody quietly on the shoulder. "Buzz, what do you want?" Woody asked, half-asleep.

"Hey, you hear something?" Buzz asked, cocking his head.

"Like what?" Woody yawned.

"Not sure. Come on."

"Buzz, it's the middle of the night."

"It's only 11:30, and Slink's awake too."

"Oh, okay." Woody lazily stood up and quietly followed Buzz. "Slink, what are you doing up?"

"I been hearin' something for a while, out in the hall," Slinky answered.

"Sounds like a puppy whimpering," Buzz said.

"A puppy?" Woody asked, perplexed.

"Come on." The trio quietly opened the bedroom door, so not to wake Andy, and tip-toed into the hall. It was dark, but from the night lights in the bathroom and Molly's room, they could make out a shaking bundle in the middle of the floor. They came closer and with Buzz's green glow they could see that the crying figure was...Mitsy! She was all curled up.

"She's having a bad dream," Slinky declared.

"We've got to wake her up!" Woody exclaimed and he rushed to her side and shook her shoulder. "Mitsy, wake up! Hey, come on. Wake up, Mitsy. Wake up!" Mitsy moaned, her eyes fluttered open a couple times, then opened wide with fear. She was gasping and trembling from head to foot. She was so afraid.

"W...what?" She asked shakily. She looked like a hunted animal about to be crushed by a horrible, giant monster.

"You were having a bad dream. Come on, wake up," Woody felt the tremors through her shoulders.

"W...where's the fire?"

"What? There's no fire here," Buzz said calmly. "Everything's okay." Mitsy quickly twisted her head around, looking at the walls and the window. Her face was full of fright.

"Are you sure?" She looked back at her friends.

"Sure."

"You were just dreaming." Slinky said.

"What were you dreaming about?" Woody asked. Mitsy squeezed her eyes shut, still shaking. Woody patted her head.

"That I was trapped in a house fire! There was...fire, everywhere! I was trying to get out. The only thing I could see was...was...fire."

"Oh! We're _so_ sorry." Woody looked up at Buzz.

"Well, nothing's going to happen. We're all safe. Don't be afraid. It's all right." Buzz said soothingly.

"Try to go back to sleep." Slinky suggested.

"It was just a bad dream," Woody smiled.

Mitsy's face looked extremely sad. "No. That isn't true," she said dejectedly. "It was more than a dream."

"Huh?" Slinky gasped. "What do you mean? Are you saying it was...real?"

"Mm-hmm." Mitsy nodded with her eyes squeezed shut.

"Aw, come on, Mitsy," Woody declared. "You're just still shaky from dreaming."

"No. I'm _not,_ Woody! It was very real...to me."

"Hang on," Buzz interjected. "Mitsy, are you telling us that you were in a house fire before?"

The princess nodded. She looked like she was going to cry.

"That's terrible!" Woody exclaimed. "When did it happen?"

"A month ago...tonight." Mitsy said.

"Tonight?" The three toys gasped.

"So _that's_ why you've been really low key today," Buzz stated.

"We thought something was bothering you," Slinky added. "Why didn't you tell us?" Mitsy stared at him questioningly, then sank her head to the floor.

"I don't want to talk about it!" She wailed. She rose to her feet, trotted down the stairs to the landing, sat down and raised her head, shut her eyes, and breathed deeply. Woody and Buzz looked at each other knowingly, then went down to talk to the little princess. Slinky followed them.

"Hey, we're right here, and nothing's going to happen," Woody spoke up as he sat down beside her. "Right, Buzz?"

"Right!" Buzz said with determination.

"We're all together, safe and sound," Slinky declared.

"We _have_ noticed that you've been kind of timid sometimes and worrisome about fire hazards," Buzz stated.

"I didn't want anything bad to happen." Mitsy cried. She was shivering.

"Of course not, but I should've guessed why. Hey, you want to tell us about it? I think you should."

Mitsy's face turned to an expression of absolute horror. "Oh, please...I," she begged, her eyes pleading. Woody gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You _will_ feel better after talking it through," he said encouragingly. She sighed and he rubbed her shoulder.

"Sharing you troubles with friends is many times what you need to do, instead of holding it all in," Buzz said.

Mitsy sighed again. "I thought..." she said, trying to find her voice. "I thought if I didn't talk about it, I could make the feelings go away. That I could forget."

"But that only made it feel worse," Woody added. "You'll be fine. Tell us what happened to you. We really want to know. It'll be okay."

Mitsy shut her eyes and hung her head. She really didn't want to do this. She raised her head but kept her eyes on the floor. She took a very deep breath. "Well," she began sadly, "to start with, it wasn't only me..."

 **Every person has something they're afraid of, and fire has _always_ been the biggest fear of my life! **


	4. Mitsy's Story Chapter 4 Maddie

"My owner, Madelynn Smith, everyone called her 'Maddie', her parents found out when she was two-years-old that she was deaf. I was a gift for her 4th birthday. But she had a stuffed dog, Jack. He'd been there since she was born. He was the very first friend I ever had. Maddie's parents took her to a speech teacher so she could learn to speak, and her mother spent hours teaching her American Sign Language, and Maddie would try to teach me-that's where I picked it up-.

'Maddie was a happy, sweet, friendly little girl, and the prettiest little kid you ever saw. She would play with Jack and me for hours on end, and he and I became best friends. She took us with her a lot of places.' " Mitsy gulped before continuing.

"Maddie turned 7 this year. 3 months ago is when tough times came. Mr. Smith was a hard worker and a good provider for his family, but then he got laid off his job. He thought it would all be okay, but he had a difficult time finding a new, steady job. 2 months ago, Mr. Smith started smoking and sometimes drinking."

"Drinking?" Woody and Buzz gasped. They were shocked. They weren't used to being around people who did those things.

"Oh no," Slinky said.

"Yes," Mitsy sighed. "When he was intoxicated, he'd yell at Maddie and her mom. But when he'd sobered up, he'd always try to reconcile with them. Maddie was sad because her parents were, and she'd play with Jack and me more than usual.

'Five and a half weeks ago, something horrible happened! This was a rare time that Maddie didn't bring us for a ride in the car. A little extra money had come in, so the Smith family decided to all ride together for some grocery shopping. They'd been gone for a few hours, and Jack and I were watching an old T.V. show when the news flashed on. There had been a bad car accident. The Smith's car had been hit by a drunk driver! Mr. Smith was thrown from the vehicle with only a bump on the head and a couple scrapes. Mrs. Smith had some bruises and a couple fractures, but she'd get better in time."

"What about Maddie?" Woody asked. "What happened to her?" The princess winced, clenching her fists, and hung her head. She was shivering terribly. Woody placed his arm around her. She finally lifted her head up.

"Maddie! Oh!" Mitsy could barely speak. "Our sweet little Maddie...she...she died before the ambulance reached the hospital!" All her words ran together. Woody, Buzz, and Slinky looked at each other in horror. "Jack and I were horrified." Mitsy said when she found her voice again. "We _had_ been Maddie's favorite toys...which meant...we...we were put on display at the funeral." She buried her face in her hands.

"Ah!" Slinky grimaced and turned his head away. This was too much.

"Oh, Mitsy," Woody shuddered. He was shocked. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if Andy...Oh! He didn't even want to consider it! "That's tragic! I'm so sorry." He scooted closer to the sobbing princess.

"Yes," was all Buzz could say.


	5. Mitsy's Story Chapter 5 The Fire

Mitsy slowly began again. "Life was just...so sad after that. The Smiths sold, donated, or gave away Maddie's other toys, all except Jack and me. Mrs. Smith clutched Jack and me close to her for days. She'd just lay with us on Maddie's bed and weep. Everything around us felt dark and heavy.

'And then, tonight, a month ago is when _it_ happened! Mrs. Smith had been spending a lot of time away from home and her husband drank even more. Well, on this night, Mrs. Smith packed a bag and left for the evening to stay with a friend. Maddie's dad barged in at 11:30, without his wife. He was dead drunk, the worst we'd ever seen. He roughly picked Jack and me up off the floor. I was scared! Then he threw us down hard, sat in a chair at the table, lit cigarettes, and spilled liquor on the table. He was furious, blown out of all proportion. Jack and I decided to head outside where it would be safe and quiet. Mr. Smith threw a live cigarette to the ash tray, but in his drunken state, missed: it hit the whiskey on the table and...and went up! Just like that!" Woody, Buzz, and Slinky gasped. "He was angry and knocked the table over with the alcohol and cigarettes and ashes all over the floor! The flames spread in all directions. It had all happened so fast. Jack and I ran but couldn't see straight, and with the burning furniture tumbling all around us, we got separated!' "

"But how did you escape?" Slinky asked.

"I called out to Jack but with the roar of the fire, it was impossible to hear or see anything. Then my cape became snagged on something in the floor. I was frantic and screamed for help. I pulled and pulled when there was a clank and I realized it was the air vent in the floor! My cape had pulled it loose. I opened it, called out to Jack as loud as I could for him to jump in it, then I threw myself down through the vent after freeing my cape. I found my way outside and crawled as far as I could in the neighbor's yard. I kept hoping Jack would find me, but...but he never showed up! The next day I searched all over for him. My guess is he...he didn't make it out! I wandered away. A neighbor found me and donated me to Goodwill." Mitsy closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

"That's horrible," Buzz finally said, clearing his throat.

"I told you, I didn't want to talk about it," Mitsy winced and leaned back, covering her face with her hand.

"We can never be to you what Jack was, but we hope you consider us your friends."

"I miss him everyday," Mitsy said with longing. "But I _have_ felt at home here."

"You're part of the family now." Woody smiled. "You belong with us now, and we stick together no matter what. We're all here for each other." Mitsy managed a weak smile.

"You're safe here," Buzz said.

Mitsy looked at them with furrowed brows. "You...you don't think I'm a scaredy cat?" she asked nervously.

"A scaredy cat?" Woody said, perplexed. "No, of course not." His kind eyes backed him up.

"You really don't?"

"Oh no," Slinky smiled. "Everybody's afraid of something."

"Not Woody and Buzz. They're not afraid of anything," Mitsy said. The cowboy and Space Ranger grinned at each other. "I was afraid you guys wouldn't understand."

"Aw," Woody sighed. "If something's bothering you, don't be afraid to tell us. We'll _try_ to listen."

Mitsy smiled wearily. "You guys are all wonderful. A toy couldn't ask for better friends than you!" Woody and Buzz went back to Andy's room, but Slinky sat with the princess in Molly's room. Bo Peep watched, smiling from her lamp stand.

"Slinky? Can I tell you something?" Mitsy asked.

"Sure," Slinky answered.

"Well, _now_ I feel safe here. Safer than I have in a long time."

"I'm sure glad," Slinky smiled. The princess threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug. It was such a comfort to have good friends.

 **Don't worry everyone. The next one is going to be much more pleasant, I promise!**


End file.
